I read somewhere that a few of the wakeboard camps/schools were using wakeskates to minimize the pain in learning a raley. My son & I tried it this past weekend and I think this makes sense. You can work on the cut, getting laid out and bringing your feet back down under you... without the fear of catching an edge and SLAMMING. We were both able to get the laid out and back into a landing position, so we should have a bit more confidence on our first board attempts. We'll warm-up on the wakeskate this weekend and then give it a shot... hopefully I will be think clearly on Monday and file a report. Note: The wakeskate falls can still hurt, especially if you star-gaze and land on your back. A wetsuit or neoprene shorts also minimizes the jewel slappage when plow into the water feet first.

Hey B - cudo to you for exploring ways of 'tasting' gnarly tricks with the wake skate! I've always wondered if that was a possibility. I'm sure the pureists out there would scoff at your method. Cool! Perhaps I will try it out. File report, when you can.

Wakeskate Raley Report: I tweaked my left knee last Friday on a nose grab back roll attempt. I had to take it easy the rest of the weekend so I didn't try the Raley with a wakeboard. The knee is feeling better today, so hopefully I feel up to trying one next weekend (after a few warm-ups on the wakeskate). - Butch